Retail and Consumer Goods

We are Stibbe
Retail and Consumer Goods specialists

“With deep industry knowledge and proven experience of this dynamic sector, we work closely with clients to achieve their legal requirements and commercial ambitions.”

Retail and Consumer Goods

As a full-service firm we have extensive experience with all aspects of retail and consumer goods.

Our clients operate in a highly competitive market and we assist them with many complex matters such as distribution issues, intellectual property (trademark and copyright law), antitrust matters, consumer protection, unfair trade practices, transport and logistics (storage, handling and shipping), product regulations, recalls, advertising, and drafting contracts as well as rules for competitions or other promotions.

We handle these issues across a broad range of industries such as food, fashion, toys, tobacco, retail and luxury goods.

As part of our service we advise and litigate on complex cases before national administrative authorities, national courts, the EU Commission, the Court of Justice and the Benelux Court.

On the menu to the right you will find a list of specialisms we provide to both national and multinational clients.

Experience - Acting as longstanding legal counsel for Makro Cash & Carry Belgium in various legal fields, such as socio-economic legislation, competition law and unfair competition law, consumer protection, general commercial law and permitting rules for the development, extension or reorganisation of several Metro and Makro stores in Belgium.

Market recognition

Stibbe’s ‘well-balanced’ team brings its ‘deep industry knowledge’ to its role supporting a pool of longstanding clients in the manufacturing sector, most notably in mining, chemicals, agriculture and goods manufacturing.

Articles - The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has fulfilled its European obligations in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism by transposing Directive 2015/849 of 20 May 2015 (also known as the 4th EU AML Directive) into national law with the brand new Law of 13 January 2019 (the RBE Law). Below is an overview of the important disclosure obligations that will soon apply to a wide range of Luxembourg entities.

Short Reads - As part of the digital economy, the rise of online platforms and search engines raises all kinds of legal questions. For example, do bicycle couriers qualify as employees who are entitled to ordinary labour law protections? Or should they be considered self-employed (see our Stibbe website on this issue)? The rise of online platforms also triggers more general legal questions on the relationship between online platforms and their users. Importantly, the European Union is becoming increasingly active in this field.

Short Reads - The first year of the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") is over. Although early noises predicted an entirely new data protection regime, the European legal framework did not change substantially, the major changes being an expansion of the territorial scope to non-EU countries and stronger powers of enforcement. In spite of fears and rumours of immediate enforcement and huge fines, most regulators focused on helping companies achieve compliance, or they enforced without directly imposing fines.

Articles - The proper value-added tax (VAT) treatment of vouchers in Belgium has been the subject of many debates and disputes over time. Are vouchers merely a means of payment or should they be assimilated to the underlying taxable transaction?

Articles - The Grand-Ducal Regulation of 15 February 2019 on the registration, payment of administrative fees and access to information recorded in the register of beneficial owners (the “RBE Regulation”) entered into force on 1 March 2019 and depicts the practical aspects of the Law of 13 January 2019 establishing a beneficial owner register (the “RBE Law”). Another document, the LBR Circular 19/01 (the “Circular”) issued by the Luxembourg Business Registers on 25 February 2019 further describes the new register of beneficial owners (the “RBE”) with the aim of helping users.

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